Horrored and Trippy Art

Partying hardy for the past week or so, I feel pretty worn out right about now, but the idea that it will end soon keeps the batteries on full for me. Whatever the case, tomorrow in San Sebastian I´m only going to sleep on the beach the whole day and continue my party at night. They´re supposed to have real world class food there, so I look forward to it, just wish I could share it with you all as well.

Last night I figured out the wonder of doing tapas in Spain. It´s a great idea and works well for me. Unfortunately, the schedules are a bit different here than in Rome, so going out at 10 is a bit late to do the eating thing. I went into a couple of places, and they told me food was over! Luckily I found a Mexican place that was still serving so I had enchiladas. I figure that Mexican food is related to Spanish food, so I really haven´t strayed from eating locally. I try my best to try local dishes, but sometimes it´s not possible to eat alone. For one thing the atmosphere is different, and for another people stare! Hahaha, actually, I notice people stare at me no matter what is going on, so it doesn´t really make a difference in the end.

Madrid at night is really great, the weather is alot more relenting. Even until 8 at night, the stones and concrete that make up the city breathe out a stifling heat. While walking home in the morning, as has been my habit the last week or so, the clear sky was starting to shine a little, and the air was actually cool and comfortable. The train ride into Madrid really was what you imagine of a Spanish countryside, rolling hills that were desertlike. I´ve noticed alot of differences in the pines of the world. In China, there are the wind-wrangled pines that grow from mountain sides, adding to the austerity of the big rocky formations. For Scandinavia, the pines are tall and straight, dispersed throughout the forests and giving the long winter a homy cozy feeling. In Spain, the pines have been short and stout, with needles that seem to be in bigger tufts than other places, the kind of growth I expect in a desert.

Waking up after only four hours of rest, the day looked to be challenging. Luckily I have my own room with great a/c, so I mozied about and left in no hurry which translates importantly as no sweating. I headed to have a splurge meal today, and it was quite a hefty sum of 40€ roughly, but I had Spanish style cochinillo, roast suckling pig, and for those of you that know, ruzhu!!! It was very delicious to say the least, so money well spent. It came with a bottle of mineral water (I could have gotten wine or beer, but on my previous nights romp and little sleep, I felt it better not to), bread, some potatoes, a big bowl of gazpacho, and ice cream to top it all off. I ate slowly and savored every bite, making sure the bones were clean. Actually, I wasn´t able to dig in as down home-like as I wanted to, I didn´t wanna attract unneeded attention to the Chinese boy sucking the bones dry!

Afterwards, I had a headache/hangover still, and it was high heat time, so I headed over to the Parque del Buen Retiro, looked around briefly, found a nice shaded spot, and slept on the grass for a couple of hours. Grass in a shaded area is surprisingly cooling, the slight moisture helping to absorb the heat I was producing from taking in the sun and digesting the (part of a) baby pig in my tummy. I woke up refreshed and went to the Museo del Prado.

I can´t say I enjoy art as consciously or as wittingly as many of you all, but I found two painters very interesting. El Bosco was definitely tripping on something when he painted, and his Jardin de Delicias (or something like that) had some pictures that looked disney cinderella castle-ish and a little Shanghai pearl towerish, kinda freaky wacky. I was very entertained by his painting so that´s why he´s on my list of likes. The other painter that I found inspiring, depressing, and morbid is Goya. You get chills by looking at the paintings up close, the unclear images dancing in different ways when you look at them from different angles. The Pinturas Negras did that anyways, but even his earlier works were quite dismal in subtle ways. And yes, I did say inspiring because it really was well planned and you can make what you will from it, but like El Bosco, there was definitely social critique abundant in the paintings.

I found a third painter that I enjoyed also, El Greco. The way he does eyes is so great, they really follow you around as you look from left and right and back again. I don´t know if that´s what one should look for, but that´s what came out at me so vividly. His noses were a bit funky, but sometimes that also moved with you. I leave it to all my artist and art historian and art knowledgeable friends to enlighten me more about it.

Now it is time to get my bags and move on. I am sad to leave Madrid, it has given me many fond memories and a great impression of how a city should be. With hope and luck and maybe some hard work, maybe I´ll be able to make it here again someday. Madrid is a definite winner for places to go to, not touristy, not boring, and not fake. Let´s see what San Sebastian has in store for me, though I don´t plan on doing much more than resting. If I don´t write from there, I´ll be heading to Bordeaux afterwards, and from there onto Paris and London. Wine tasting here I come.